Band of Misfits
by Corngo
Summary: Follow a group of dysfunctional party members as they venture out into this fantasy world. Based on a fun, silly D&D campaign by author and co.
1. Chapter 1: The Noble's Son

CHAPTER 1

THE NOBLE'S SON

Amidst the tall oak trees and silent winds lay a girl, hidden within a dark layer of tall grass. No more than 30 feet away from her was a large deer, calmly drinking from a small pond. The girl stared intently at the deer and drew her bow. Her arms steadied and her breath stilled. She was ready.

"Hey! Where are you? Are you done yet?" screamed another from afar.

The girl jumped, and her shot flew past the deer; startled, it ran off into the distance. The girl smacked her lips and arose, revealing her bright, yet sharp blue eyes and red hair that was as messy as the grass around her. She could see a girl running towards her, and all she could do was pinch between her eyes.

"There you are Lyla. Did you manage to get the deer?" asked the girl. Her peculiar brown eyes reflected the sun's bright light and her long black pigtails were as smooth as silk. Lyla stared blankly at the girl. She leaned forward, put her hands on her hips and asked, "well?"

"No, Alexia, I didn't," replied Lyla as she crossed her arms.

"Well maybe if we just fixed up your hair a bit and keep your hair from covering your eye,"- her hand motioned towards Lyla- "it could help you improve-." Lyla quickly swiped Alexia's hand out of the way and stared her down.

"Please don't touch me. I can see just fine." Alexia pulled her hand back and turned around.

"Alright fine, you don't have to be so rude about it. Anyway, we should get going, the rest of the group is waiting for us." The two walked out of the forest and into the open grassy fields. Waiting for them were their three companions; two large Elves, Zero and Rydel, each clad in armor and wielding mighty great swords, as well as a very pale and comedically short Tieffling, Solgeran; although most know him as Sol. The group joined together and ventured in the direction of a great city in the distance.

After some time the group noticed a few figures not too far off. Lyla leaned forward and squinted her eyes at the scene.

"Looks like their carriage is messed up," said Lyla. "Not only that but it looks like there's about 3 bodies on the ground, and they don't seem to be moving."

"The insignia on the carriage belongs to the Calliban family," replied Alexia. "Thieving bastards. They cheated their way into royalty. All they ever do now is suck up to the other Royal families, it's probably why they were headed to Shalai."

"Well regardless, there could be bystanders in need and we have to help!" exclaimed Rydel.

"Maybe we should think about this before we jump-," neglecting to hear out Alexia both Rydel and Zero charged toward the carriage, followed by Lyla who said, "Helping out a noble could lead to some pretty good rewards. I'm in."

Alexia turned to Sol who turned back to her as well. He shrugged, and went along with the others. Alexia stared at her companions and hung her head. Letting out a sigh, she put on her hood, and followed them to the carriage.

The carriage seemed to grow bigger and bigger as the group grew closer to it. As tall as they were, both Rydel and Zero who normally towered over their companions needed to look up at it. Four, maybe five horses were needed to pull such a thing.

As they were arriving, they noticed what seemed to be a young teen, wearing thin, silky robes, yelling obscenities at three others. Two of them were large men wearing heavy armor and weaponry, while the other was considerably smaller and wearing noticeably worn out clothing.

"Look at this brat, he needs some discipline," whispered Zero to Rydel.

"Quiet you," replied Rydel as he elbowed Zero.

The two men were noticeably tired and had a dreadful look in their eyes, as if to say that this wasn't the first time they had been yelled at for a long period of time.

"Umm, sire," said one of the guards as he pointed towards Zero, Rydel, and the rest of the oncoming group.

"What is it!" snarled the boy as he turned around to see the group of travelers. "Oh. My. Lord. What the hell do you cretins want?"

Just as the boy began berating Zero and Rydel, Lyla approached the carriage itself. She stopped and examined the several corpses on the ground; there were twice as many as she initially thought there were. Kneeling next to one of them, she used one of her hands to act as though she was looking for a pulse, while the other slowly moved towards its pockets.

"Don't touch that," snapped the boy. Lyla quickly got up and stuck both hands out.

"Alllright your highness," said Lyla, as she rolled her eyes and slowly walked back, "I was just trying to see if they were alright."

"My Lord, please excuse her, she's a troubled one," interjected Rydel, as Lyla looked at him with a raised eyebrow, "We're here to help in any way we can." The guards began to rub their temples.

"Kaynith, please," said one of the guards to the boy, "Maybe they can actually help us." The young noble paused for a moment. He took a deep breath and lowered his voice.

"I am Kaynith, heir to the Calliban family," boasted the noble, "my men and I were ambushed on our way to Shalai by those no good, filthy goblins. They slaughtered most of my guards and servants. They've also stolen one my horses and let the rest go in the process. If that wasn't enough, my family's sacred rapier was stolen." Kaynith turned and pointed towards the great city. "Now that I've informed you of my predicament, if you're so keen on helping me then you can do me the pleasure of escorting me to Shalai."

"Escorts?" questioned Sol. "But what about this rapier that you spoke of? Surely you'd want it back immediately." Kaynith turned to Sol and started him dead in the eye.

"I don't recall stuttering, but yes. You will escort me to Shalai where your services will no longer be required. As for the rapier, I will have my men search for it. I can trust them to retrieve it before the noble families gather in Shalai's forum."

"Yeah that sounds fin-" before Rydel could finish, Sol took a step in front of him.

"Your nobleness!" exclaimed Sol. "We're very capable adventurers. Surely we can find this item for you."

"You seem very keen on the rapier, little Tieffling," replied Kaynith, "I would advise against such disobedience towards a noble, you can give the wrong impression."

"Oh please," scoffed Lyla, "you really think we'd want to incriminate ourselves to a noble?"

"Says the one trying to steal from a dead man," said Kaynith. He turned and pointed to Alexia. "That one hasn't even said a word and has suspiciously been trying to hide herself this whole time." He examined the group and pondered for a moment. "Perhaps you were right earlier. Maybe you're not escorts, maybe you're not even adventurers. No, you're all just a bunch of filthy bandits trying to take advantage of my time of need, and I've nearly allowed myself be deceived."

"My Lord, please, we can explain ourselves," stammered Rydel. Kaynith raised his hand and snapped his finger. The guards and servant groaned as they readied their spears and dagger and charged toward the group.

"Oh no look at what you've done! Now we have to disarm and calm them down," said Rydel as he pulled out his mighty greatsword. The servant charged at him. Rydel swung his sword, aiming for the servant's dagger, but he gravely underestimated his strength and he cleaved the servant's arm. "_Oh my god_," he whispered to himself. He and the guards looked in horror as the servant fell to the ground and a pool of blood seeped from his wound.

"500 gold per head!" shouted Kaynith. Wasting no time Sol reached into his cloak and began making hand gestures to it. Immediately the staff began to make a faint glow and a burst of light flashed behind Kaynith and the guards. They turned and were quickly blinded by the light. Alexia took advantage of the situation and approached one of the guards, whispering a dissonant melody to him. The guard could see the world spinning and the sky growing ever so dark. He could hear what seemed to be people talking faintly all around him but failed to see anyone at all. With each passing second his world spun faster and faster and the voices grew louder and louder. He tried to close his eyes but all kept spinning. He tried to cover his ears but he could still hear the voices yelling nonsense to him. He sweat profusely. His breathing was rapid. His body was shaking uncontrollably. He couldn't handle it anymore. He grabbed his head, let out a loud eerie shriek, and fell to the ground. The second guard, blinded by the light, heard the cry of his companion. He began shaking and walked back. Unaware of his surroundings, he tripped. Lyla ran towards him and knocked him clean with her sword's pommel. Kaynith staggered and began rapidly blinking to readjust his vision.

"You're all dead," cursed Kaynith, "I'll make sure they search the ends of the earth to find you!" As Kaynith was giving his speech, Zero walked up to him and decked him in the stomach, instantly knocking him out.

"That'll teach you, ya brat," said Zero triumphantly. Lyla began tying up the noble and guards and leaned them on the carriage. Before she went back to the rest of her group she noticed that the noble was wearing a gold ring. She quickly took it from him and walked off.

"Welp, we gotta think of a way to explain ourselves now," said Rydel.

"This isn't something that you can easily explain away," exclaimed Alexia. "They're going to wake up and they're going to be furious!"

"Well yeah but we have to think of something to get us out of this."

"We could just kill him," mentioned Zero. Sol nodded his head in agreement.

"Jeez aren't you supposed to be a priest," asked Alexia.

"Yes but so what? He was being extremely rude and threatened us."

"That's sick and regardless, we can't kill him. He's a noble a child and killing him will brand us as enemies of the other noble families and the government."

"You've mentally scarred a man with your witchcraft and you think _that's_ sick?" questioned Lyla.

"I've told you before, I'm a bard," replied Alexia. "My abilities from the magic of song and speech. And yes, as it turns out I'm not fond killing children for being 'rude', nor am I a fan of being enemies of the government."

"I wouldn't really call him a child, he seems old enough to warrant that. We also wouldn't be enemies if we do it discretely and cover our tracks."

"We are NOT killing anyone!" exclaimed Rydel, who looked at the disarmed body of the servant. As the group continued arguing over what would happened to their captives Sol walked over to the tied up noble and guards. He began gesturing to his staff and, like before, it began to glow faintly. Suddenly, shards of ice form in front of Sol. He waves his hand forward and the shards quickly pierced through the noble and guards. The group heard the loud sound of wood being hit and turned. They're jaws dropped and no one could speak up as they saw the once live bodies of the noble were no more. They turned to Sol who turned to them. He gave them a smirk and said, "Problem solved."


	2. Chapter 2: Regroup

CHAPTER 2

REGROUP

"This is insane. It's treason. We'll be labeled as enemies of the state. I can't believe we just did this," said Alexia as she held her head and frantically paced back and forth. She continued for a few moments as she couldn't stop the hoard of thoughts racing to her head. Her companions stared at her with concern and, admittedly, a bit of amusement. After some time though, Lyla nodded her head. She went up to Alexia and began shaking her.

"Slow down there princess. Everything's gonna be alright," said Lyla.

"Oh? And how is that?" asked Alexia with a frown on her face.

"Yeah, how is that," asked Rydel as he faced Sol.

Sol began giggling to himself. He pointed towards the dead bodies and said, "Look, it's ice." Zero tilted his head and stared at Sol with a raised brow. Sol noticed this and turned to him. Sol continued saying, "What happens with ice? It melts, so there's no murder weapon left behind. And look," Sol grabbed the ends of his cloak and spun, "there's no kind of stain on me, so there's no proof that we were ever here."

"He makes a good point," said Lyla, "and besides, do any of you have a better idea?"

Rydel and Alexia looked at each other for a moment. They could see that the other wasn't ok with the situation but were powerless to do anything about it. They both turned their heads down and in unison said, "No…"

"Alright then it's settled," said Sol as he clapped his hands in glee, "we'll split up and go through the city from different entrances. Whoever goes in first can tell the guards that they've seen the bodies here. We'll meet back up at a bar."

"Alright fine, if we're splitting up then I'll go with Lyla and keep her in check," said Alexia.

"You'll what?!" questioned Lyla as she started marching towards Alexia.

"So it's decided," said Sol as he motioned towards Zero and Rydel, "the girls will go together and I'll take these two with me." Lyla scoffed and crossed her arms.

"Let's just go already," said Lyla.

The group gathered their things and split off towards the great city. Lyla and Alexia ventured to the Northeastern entrance while the rest of the group headed to the Southeastern. Each group would take roughly the same amount of time to get there.

Although they were still quite a bit of distance away, the group could see the great walls surrounding the city of Shalai. From afar the walls didn't look so mighty, but as one grew closer they would see that the stone walls were as sturdy as iron and looked as though they could reach the heavens themselves.

The continent of Iserath had seen constant war when the first races were brought into existence. Cities and knowledge were lost with each clash until 2000 years ago when an uneasy peace treaty was struck, and Shalai came to be. Its large outer wall is both for defense and a reminder to keep the people safe.

After some time walking in silence, Lyla and Alexia were approaching the city's entrance. Two guards stood there, eyeing the girls approaching them.

"Ok, so now what?" asked Alexia.

"We go up, we lie, and then we go in," replied Lyla.

"That sounds too simple."

"Just follow me." Lyla ran towards the guards and waved at them, and Alexia quickly followed suit. Lyla reached the guards and began panting as though she had lost her breath from the short run.

"What is it? What's going on?" asked one of the guards. Lyla looked up at him. Her once sharp eyes seemed rounder, and her tone became softer.

"Please," said Lyla, "we saw an attack not too far out from here. It looked like a massacre, and we fear it might have been a noble family." Alexia took a step back at Lyla's behavior, as she had never seen her act like this before and didn't think she could. The other guard, however, was paying no attention to Lyla's plea. He stared intently at Alexia, as if he had seen her before.

"Fucking goblins," said the guard, "they've been trouble for a few months now. Where did you say this was?"

"Just east from here. You'll find a carriage with several armored men lying around, and even a poor servant who's had his arm torn off."

"Thank you. You two girls just head into the city now, we'll take care of the rest. And don't mention this to anyone, understand?" The girls nodded in agreement and headed through the towering stone wall. As soon as they were far enough from the guards, Lyla smirked, and turned to Alexia, "I told you it was simple." Alexia simply rolled her eyes and the two continued walking.

They walked in awkward silence for a few hours, going through Shalai's many districts. Along with the outer wall, Shalai had additional smaller walls that separated the city into these districts. Farmland, guilds, an expansive marketplace, and even a mage's college were all but a small piece built for the many races and classes that inhabited Shalai. At the center of it all was The Forum, a large, domed tower where representatives of each kingdom, race, and even guild members come to meet; settling regional and national disputes without any need for war. As long as The Forum stands, so too will Shalai.

Lyla and Alexia had finally reached the market district. Crowds of people walked by from all directions, going in and out of the many stores and tents scattered across the area. It didn't matter what your needs were; food, tools, weapons, etc, you could find it all here.

Lyla and Alexia looked around to see if, by chance, their companions had arrived before they did, but found nothing.

"So… where to now?" asked Alexia.

"We meet up with them at the bar as planned."

"Oh yeah? And tell me, which one would that be? You _do_ remember that Shalai has multiple taverns don't you?" Lyla slapped her forehead and groaned.

"That little idiot never told us which one to go to…"

"I think that makes two idiots. Oh well, come along, we'll just pick one and wait."

"Fine, you lead the way then," sneered Lyla. They walked around for a few minutes, dodging the oncoming crowds of people. Finally, Alexia noticed a bar nearby, The Silver Moon, and they both entered.

The bar was fairly large, yet dimly lit. Most of the redwood tables were empty aside from the two day-drunks the Dwarven barkeeper was currently tending to.

The girls went and sat at the back of the bar, ordered a meal, and waited for their companions.

Rydel, Zero and Sol had finally reached the market district. Rydel and Zero, with their greater heights, searched for their companions among the sea-full of people. Sol, however, couldn't see passed most people's stomachs, even on his tiptoes. They looked and looked, but to no avail.

"Well so much for that," said Rydel, "so which bar did you tell them to go to?"

"I didn't," responded Sol, "trust me, I'll know where to go."

Rydel turned to Zero and whispered, "Is this guy being serious?" Zero shrugged. "I… alright then, show us the way," sighed Rydel.

Sol began walking in a random direction. It was difficult to tell where he was going since even he couldn't tell as everyone towered over him, preventing him from reading most signs. Surprisingly though, he managed to find his way into the closest bar, The Screeching Siren.

As the group walked in they were surprised to see the Elven barkeeper breathing deeply and rubbing his temples. In front of the barkeeper was a Half-orc, wearing a leather leotard and pelt, who was even taller than both Rydel and Zero.

"For the last time, I need money. No money, no buy," said the barkeeper.

"What seems to be the problem here?" asked Rydel.

"This large… man, has been trying to haggle me all evening and I've had enough." The barkeeper slammed his fist on the counter.

"Oh." Rydel turned to the large man. "What are you trying to give him?" The large man presented a large mushroom to Rydel. It seemed… edible.

"Bacchus wants to give barkeeper a mushroom," said the large man.

"Are you Bacchus?" asked Rydel.

"Ye."

"You know what, you seem like a nice guy. If you give us some mushrooms then I'll get you a drink." Bacchus pulled out two more mushrooms from his pelt pocket. It didn't seem as though he should have space for that many mushrooms, but Rydel figured it was probably best not to ask.

Bacchus handed the group the mushrooms. Rydel put his in his bag for later, while Sol tossed his behind the barkeeper's counter while he wasn't looking. Rydel ordered the drink for Bacchus and he quickly chugged it whole.

"Bacchus is very thankful to large man elf," said Bacchus.

"Any time," replied Rydel.

"I'm sorry, how do you say your name again?" asked Zero.

"Bacchus," replied Bacchus.

"Marcus?"

"Bacchus."

"Ah, I see." Zero walked up to Bacchus and shook his hand. "Well thank you Barkus for the mushroom." Zero began eating the mushroom but quickly started choking on it. His face was becoming blue as he tried pounding on his chest.

"Barkeeper, quickly, a drink!" exclaimed Rydel. The barkeeper quickly poured a drink and handed it to Zero. Just as Zero was beginning to chug it, Bacchus gave him a mighty slap to his back, causing him to spray the food and drink out onto the barkeeper's direction. Bits and chunks of half-eaten mushroom and alcohol were scattered all over the barkeeper's now bright red face. Before he could say anything though, Rydel left the money on the counter and pushed Bacchus, Zero, and Sol out of the bar.

"Well that was a bust," said Rydel, "we still haven't found the girls."

"I told you that wasn't the right bar, fool," berated Sol.

"Wait, we're looking for some girls? Nice looking ones?" asked Zero.

Rydel clasped his hands in front of his face and took one of the deepest breaths he had ever taken in his life. He turned to Bacchus.

"Bacchus would you like to help us look for our missing companions?" asked Rydel.

"Bacchus had nothing better to do today," replied Bacchus.

"Great! Onward to the next bar!"

The group wandered a few blocks down when they noticed a man urging to a guard.

"Please. You have to find my son," pleaded the man. "He's just a young boy." The man dropped to his knees while holding onto the guard's leg.

"Sir," said the guard, "this is the fifth time this has happened recently. All missing children usually end up found, at most, within a month. Now please, get off me before I'm forced to do it myself." The man got back up and began sobbing. He looked at Rydel for a moment and wandered off.

Rydel approached the guard and asked, "What's going on with missing children?"

"Look, buddy, I'm just a day guard," replied the guard, "I don't deal with things that happen at night. If you really want more info then head to the Information Brokerage and pay up, otherwise, just let this non-issue sort itself out." The guard walked away from the group and back to his post.

Rydel pulled out a journal and pencil from his bag and took note of the missing children. He put his journal away and the group continued their way towards the next bar, The Good Companions.

Once they entered they scanned the area. The bar was much larger than the one they had previously been to. The tables and chairs were made from sturdy, red, oak wood, and the back contained a large stage. Rydel's face lit up.

"Hold on, I know this place," said Rydel, "this is where Lyla and I found Alexia."

"I have been meaning to ask, how did you manage to befriend that small and mean redhead?" asked Zero.

"Oh, well first she tried to steal this from me," Rydel proceeded to unsheath a black katana from his back and presented it to the rest of the group, "in the middle of the night, but I got it back. I don't know how to use this thing yet so I'm hoping I can find someone here in the city who can help me."

"Bacchus believes that's called an enemy," said Bacchus.

"Nah, I thought it was impressive. Ever since then I tagged along with her, even though she tries to hide from me for some reason. A couple days after, we found Alexia performing here, and Lyla took note of her right away for some reason, so I asked if she wanted to team up with us." Rydel started pointing at Sol and Zero. "Then a few days ago we met you, you, and now we've met Bacchus." Bacchus smiled.

"Are any of elf-man's companions here?" asked Bacchus.

"They're not, but I don't think we'll get very far if we keep bar hopping all evening. Plus, it's been a long, _eventful_ day." Rydel walked over to the Half-orc barkeeper that was cleaning glasses. He waved his hand to the rest of the group, motioning them to come over. "Come on boys, first round is on me!"

Back at the Silver Moon, Lyla was tapping her fingers on the wooden table while Alexia was playing a tune on her lyre. The tapping became faster and faster as seconds went by until she stopped and shot up from her chair.

"That's it," said Lyla. "I'm out of here." She began marching towards the exit. Alexia put away her instrument and chased after her.

"And just where do you think you're going?" questioned Alexia.

"We've been here too long, they're clearly not coming."

"Is that so? Do you have a better idea?"

"I'm going to check out some other places. Although, you're more than welcome to wait for them here if you want."

"Absolutely not, I'm not letting you run off on your own. Come, I'll lead the way again." Alexia walked in front of Lyla and exited the building.

"Because that worked so well the first time," mumbled Lyla as she walked out of the bar.

The once bright day was now becoming dimmer and dimmer. The blue sky was becoming more orange, and the once loud, busy streets of the marketplace became softer and easier to navigate through.

As the girls were heading out they saw a woman lying in the middle of the street, crying hysterically. "P-p-p-please. My s-s-son," we're the only coherent words that most people were able to make out from her sobbing as they walked around her.

"Just keep walking, don't make any eye contact," whispered Lyla to Alexia. They walked around the woman, and onward to the next bar, The Glory Bringer.

The bar itself was considerably filled with more people than they thought there would be. A majority of the tables were filled with people eating, laughing, and drinking as a soft piano played over the bar's stage. The bar was stocked with some fine wine and high-end liquor, and more people were coming in as the night sky grew closer.

"Well they're not going to be here," said Lyla.

"We've barely looked, how can you be so sure?" asked Alexia.

"Look at me with a straight face and try to tell me that you think Rydel, Zero, and Sol would fit in at a place like this." Alexia couldn't even try. She walked away immediately. "I hope those idiots are having just as much fun as we are."

While Lyla and Alexia were transitioning between bars, the four-man group of Rydel, Zero, Sol, and now Bacchus, had finished several rounds of drinks. Rydel and Bacchus, arm in arm, were laughing hysterically while Zero was asking whichever poor woman he could find if they would like to get to know him better, to no avail. Sol, however, wasn't nearly as intoxicated as his companions. He tried to approach Rydel and remind him of their missing companions, but he was too easily distracted to pay attention to Sol.

"This is taking too long," thought Sol. He pointed in a random direction and with his magic and used a message spell. Whoever uses this spell can point at a target, even through walls, and whisper messages to them and vice-versa. It was, statistically, nearly impossible for Sol to find either of the girls when they could be, literally, anywhere from where he was.

"Ahoy. Lyla?" whispered Sol.

"Hu?" said Lyla.

Despite the odds, Sol had, somehow, miraculously made contact with Lyla.

"Wow that worked?" whispered Sol.

Lyla frantically looked around the area for Sol, but despite how hard she looked she couldn't find where the voice was coming from. Alexia looked at her questioningly.

"Lyla? What is it, what's wrong?" asked Alexia.

"He's in my head isn't he?" sighed Lyla.

"Is this Lyla?" asked Sol.

"No this is Bacchus," replied Bacchus. Sol turned to see Bacchus looking around for where the voices in his head were coming from. Sol looked just as confused.

"Bacchus?" asked Lyla.

"What's a Bacchus? What's going on with you?!" asked Alexia in a raised tone. Lyla put one of her hands in front of Alexia's face and covered her ear with the other.

"Listen you little gremlin, where are you guys?"

"At The Good Companions where I told you to meet us," replied Sol. "Come join us, we're having fun." Lyla tried to respond but was met with silence.

"They're at the Good Companions," said Lyla.

"Ok… how do you know this, and what's a Bacchus?" asked Alexia.

"Because he invaded my head. And I have no idea what a Bacchus is. Let's just go already."

They headed over to The Good Companions which luckily wasn't too far from where they were. They walked in and the group was finally reunited. Rydel and Bacchus had begun sobering up at this point, while Zero was still up to his antics. It seemed he was a lightweight.

Unfortunately for Lyla and Alexia, Zero couldn't remember faces and noticed the girls coming in. Zero began wobbling to them, spilling bits of his drink in the process.

"Hey, there's some new faces. Come forth girls, and meet Zero the Great!" exclaimed Zero. Alexia grimaced, and Lyla sneered.

"Put that down, you've clearly had too much," said Lyla, reaching for the drink in Zero's hand.

"Unhand me woman!" screamed Zero, as began thrashing about. Bacchus quickly grabbed Zero by his shoulders and pinned him to the wall.

"Bacchus has saved little girl from angry elf-man," said Bacchus.

"So I take it you're Bacchus?" asked Lyla as she was examining Bacchus, questioning his choice of clothing.

"Ye."

Zero began snoring while still being pinned by Bacchus. Bacchus drank the rest of Zero's drink and laid him down, leaving a mushroom next to him.

Lyla began pinching her eyes and asked Rydel what happened. He told them about the adventure they had; meeting Bacchus, learning about some missing children, and overall having a good night out with his companions.

The Half-orc barkeeper cleared his throat.

"I don't mean to interrupt this little reunion, but I'm gonna need the funds from your guy's last round," said the barkeeper.

"I can get that," said Sol as he went over to where Zero was laying down. He rummaged through Zero's bag and pulled out a couple of gold pieces. With this, he gladly paid the barkeeper.

"You know, if you guys need a place to stay, we're also an inn." He began pointing to Rydel and Lyla and said, "I'll give a deal for you two since you've been here before and I like you guys," he then pointed to Alexia, "and I'll give you extra if you perform on stage." The three gladly accepted the offer and paid. Rydel paid an additional for Bacchus, and Sol used the gold he took earlier to pay for his and Zero's room. They each received a key for their rooms.

"Well, now that that's settled I'm going out for a bit," said Lyla.

"And just where do you think you're going?" interrogated Alexia.

"What are you, my keeper? I'm going for a walk." Alexia began marching towards Lyla and raised her voice.

"Oh no you don't. I can't tell what, but you're up to something. You're staying at this inn!"

"I didn't realize getting some fresh air was such a crime nowadays, but I guess I was mistaken. If it'll keep you from acting delusional then I'll stay. Anyway, you have a performance you should probably get to." Lyla started walking towards the stairs that led to the guest rooms. "Break a leg!" Alexia sneered, but she began walking towards the stage to perform with her lyre.

Bacchus and Rydel also went to their rooms for the night while Sol stayed behind to chat with strangers. Zero, however, was still lying on the floor, covered by a tablecloth the barkeeper had placed over him.

Lyla stepped into her room and locked the door behind her. She looked out her window and saw the bright moon lighting the now quiet and empty market district. She opened her window and began climbing down the side of the building. Once she was down she put her hood up and began walking away.

Bacchus, too, opened his window. He put his feet together and put his arms up, creating a pose in the shape of the letter 'T'. A few crows flew into his room and perched on Bacchus' arms.

"Hello birds, how are you?" asked Bacchus. Using his own magic, Bacchus was temporarily able to speak with animals.

"We're doing alright," replied one of the crows. "Saw a bunch of dead bodies today though, one of them was missing its arm, but it still made for a good meal."

"Did the birds enjoy their meal?"

"Absolutely."

"Thank you, birds." The crows stayed in Bacchus' room as he lay to bed.

Lyla approached a building labeled, the Information Brokerage, and walked inside. The building seemed larger on the inside than it did outside. There was a single booth in the back and large statues positioned to look as though they were holding up the ceiling. At the booth was a Gnome being berated by a tall, purple Tiefling, covered in snake tattoos across each of his arms.

"For the last time, I don't care what you had for breakfast," said the Tiefling, "we need real, important facts."

"Step aside kid, I've got some real info here," said Lyla as she shoved the adult Gnome out of the way. "Hey Ral, got any important info today?"

"Been slow and uneventful the past few days," replied Ral.

"Well that's good to hear, because I've got something classified to tell you." Ral turned his head towards a sleeping Dwarf in the back who was covered in similar tattoos.

"Cameron! Cast the Zone!" The Dwarf shot up from his rest and rushed to the front. He began whispering some sort of spell and the tattoos on his arms started to glow. "Alright, what do you got for us?"

For a moment, Lyla felt compelled to not lie to Ral, but the feeling left almost as soon as it came. Perhaps the dwarf wasn't focusing on the spell hard enough. Lyla smiled as soon as she knew she wasn't under the effects of the spell.

"Kaynith Caliban has been murdered," said Lyla. Ral's eyes widened and he began taking notes in a journal.

"Oh, that is very important indeed."

"Yup, overheard some guards talking about it. Poor boy and his crew were massacred by some goblins, and one of his servants even had his arm ripped off."

Ral ripped the page from his journal and handed it to his companion.

"Get the word out on this right away. The Calibans are not going to happy about this." He handed Lyla a satchel that contained 100 gold pieces.

"Thanks Ral, I might have something else big for you soon, but it's going to take some time. Anyway, it was a pleasure doing business."

"The pleasure's all mine. Come back soon."

Lyla headed off and returned to The Good Companions. She scaled the wall back into her room and slept happily for the rest of the night.


	3. Chapter 3: Hole In The Ground

CHAPTER 3: HOLE IN THE GROUND

Lyla was the first of her companions to wake up the next morning. She headed downstairs to eat some breakfast but was met with a large, snoring lump of sorts covered with a tablecloth. She uncovered the mass to find Zero, still sleeping on the floor. It seems no one bothered to pick him off the ground. He laid there, with what seemed like a puddle next to his sleeping head. Lyla sneered at the sight, but quickly had an idea. She knelt next to Zero and began rummaging through his pockets. Before she could manage to find anything though, Zero awoke from his slumber, jolted up from the ground, and unsheathed his greatsword.

"What's going on, where am I?" questioned Zero.

"You've been sleeping at the bar all night and I was trying to wake you up," answered Lyla as she was getting up from the ground, "but I guess I probably shouldn't do that anymore if this is how you're going to thank me." Hearing the commotion, the group woke up and also went downstairs.

"What's going on?" asked Alexia as she yawned and stretched the long night away.

"I was trying to wake up Zero, and he goes into a ballistic rage," responded Lyla.

"I'm not surprised."

"Look, I'm sorry Lyla, let me buy you breakfast in return," pleaded Zero. He put away his weapon and rummaged through his money. _I could've sworn I had a bit more_, he thought to himself. He paid the barkeeper for Lyla's meal.

"That's more like it," said Lyla with a smug smile, "alright Zero, I can forgive you this time."

"I'll take one too please," said Alexia, followed by Sol, Rydel, and Bacchus.

The barkeeper handed them each their plate of food. Bacchus presented a mushroom to the barkeeper in addition to what he had already paid.

"Bacchus would like barkeeper to have this," said Bacchus in orcish. "Mushrooms are big and chewy and you can use in many things." The barkeeper took the mushroom and stared at it as his hand began to fidget.

"Just like mother used to make," replied the barkeeper in orcish as he shed a single tear. The barkeeper and Bacchus embraced each other in open arms as the rest of the group stared at them with blank looks.

The group was silent as they ate. No one seemed particularly interested in talking with one another as they took their time eating. Rydel, however, ate his food rather quickly and jumped from his seat.

"Alright gang, what adventure awaits us today!?" exclaimed Rydel. Lyla and Alexia gave him a puzzled look.

"I'm sorry Rydel, but what do you mean by adventuring?" asked Alexia.

"You know; we do a quest, stop some bad guys, maybe save some people here and there, come back to the bar to celebrate, and overall make the world just that much of a better place," answered Rydel, putting his index finger and thumb slightly apart from each other to show how much of a difference he'd make on the world.

"If you need something to do then there's a job board over there," said the barkeeper, pointing to a board filled with papers on the wall.

Rydel walked to the board and examined it. He saw a poster advertising for new Book Club members, and a wanted poster for a Half-elf that included a sketch of the suspect. The Half-elf had thick, black hair, a large, puffy goatee, and a long, curly mustache.

The barkeeper handed Rydel another flyer from a large stack and said, "This one just came in today. Don't understand why they gave me so many though." _100 gold pieces per Goblin head. 1,000 gold pieces for the return of the family's treasured Moon Rapier. Bring all items to the house of Caliban, _read Rydel.

"Listen, Rydel," said Lyla, "unless there's a good reward, I'm not putting my well being on the line for a silly adventure."

"Boy, then do I have some good news for you then," replied Rydel, slamming the flyer on the table. Aside from Alexia who tilted her head and raised a brow, the group's eyes lit up as they read the flyer.

"This has to be because of Kaynith," whispered Alexia. "But that's strange, how could they confirm it was goblins so quickly?"

"Remember, that one guard yesterday was pretty adamant on Goblins," replied Lyla. "And either way, who cares?! Look at this reward! 100 for some measly goblin heads, 1,000 for their Rapier! They're basically handing out a fortune, I'm in."

"Yes, he was. And that is indeed a high reward for some pesky Goblins. Alright, I'll join in as well."

"Ha, I got to show that noble fool who he was dealing with, and I get to reap the benefits of it as well," said Sol.

"Great!" exclaimed Rydel. "Bacchus, would you like to come as well?"

"Bacchus enjoys Rydel's company," replied Bacchus, taking the large stack of papers from the barkeeper.

"What about you Zero?" Zero only groaned in response as Rydel turned to see him drinking his fifth glass of water while rubbing his temples and, for a moment, regretting his decisions from last night. "…he'll be alright. Barkeeper, would you happen to know where we can find us some Goblins?"

"Could always go to the woods," replied the barkeeper, pouring Zero yet another drink, "some people have seen some of those little shits by there lately."

"If it's alright, I'd like to stop by a weapons shop first," said Alexia.

"That's quite alright. We can make a quick stop there and then head off to the woods right after." Everyone nodded in agreement and stepped out of the inn and into the marketplace after finishing their meal.

The group wandered through the waves of people pitter-pattering about. Alexia was taking the lead, trying as hard as she could to swerve through the crowd and passing by an array of different shops that the city had to offer; magic, alchemy, even some local food vendors. Lyla was walking alongside Alexia, blending in with the rest of the crowd and allowing her to easily grab an apple from a nearby food tent without anyone else noticing, much to Alexia's dismay.

Bacchus was handing out flyers the barkeeper gave him earlier, while Rydel was sniffing the air. There was something delicious nearby. He followed the aroma to a nearby food tent, and his mouth watered. The tent had a large mass of raw meat hanging from the ceiling, with rows of freshly skewered meat being displayed on the front counter as new meat sizzled on the owner's greasy grill.

"How do you do my fellow man?" asked Rydel. "How much for your meat sticks?"

"One silver piece per stick," replied the dwarven owner.

"That's theft! I'll do five copper pieces." The owner nodded in disagreement.

"You're not getting it half-off buddy. One silver piece."

Rydel continued to hassle the owner for several minutes. Sol and Lyla attempted to use the distraction to try and take some meat for themselves. Sol, whose face could barely reach the counter, successfully snatched a stick of meat with his grubby little hands. Lyla, however, wasn't as fortunate as the owner immediately turned to her and gave her a dirty look.

"I'm sorry good sir," said Lyla, "I was just trying to see how good the meat is. I must say, it looks just as good as it smells." The owner's face turned ever so slightly red as he grunted and shooed Lyla away with his hand. Lyla obliged and followed Alexia to the nearby weapon shop, The House of Shade and Wo.

Alexia opened the door and a small bell rang from on top of the door frame. Upon hearing the chime, the two shopkeepers welcomed the young girls. One was a tall, Elven male named Shade, while the other was a short, Dwarven male named Wo who had a completely shaven beard. They each wore matching rings, with Shade's having an Elven engraving reading _Wodenhammer,_ while Wo's ring had a Dwarven engraving reading _Shadevra_.

The girls walked in awe as they saw the myriad of different tools and weaponry displayed on the walls and glass counters, such as swords, halberds, spears, and axes, just to name a few.

"How can we help you fine ladiess?" asked Wo.

"Oh, umm, yes, hello good sir," replied Alexia, "I was looking to see if, maybe, you had some kind of easy to use, long ranged weapon. Like a crossbow perhaps?"

"You've come to the right place then!" Shade proceeded to get to pull a crossbow from underneath a nearby counter and handed it to Wo. "This here's the fine class crossbow that you're looking for, made her myself. Just load her up, aim, and shoot! You can get this fine piece of dwarven work for just a measly 25 gold pieces."

Alexia looked into her bag and counted her gold pieces. She had less than half of what she needed. She grunted and asked Lyla, "You wouldn't… happen to have any spare gold pieces, would you?"

"Nope," replied Lyla with a smug smile. "I'm in the same boat as you are, low funds."

Alexia turned to Shade, who seemed lost in thought, and asked in Elvish, "How much is it really worth?"

Shade was taken aback as he didn't normally see humans speaking elvish. Without thinking, he shrugged and responded in elvish, "About 15 gold pieces." Wo turned to Shade and began berating him in Elvish.

"What did you tell him?" asked Lyla.

"Oh nothing, nothing," responded Alexia. "I just, don't recommend getting anything from here." The two girls left as the shopkeepers continued with their squabble.

The girls walked back to the rest group and, even though they were away for some time, Rydel was still trying to haggle for his meat sticks. The shopkeeper had his head rested on his hand and was looking past Rydel and Bacchus with a blank look.

"Seven copper pieces!" exclaimed Rydel.

"Ten copper pieces!" exclaimed Bacchus, despite ten copper pieces being equivalent to a single silver piece.

The shopkeeper finally sighed and said, "Alright, fine. Seven copper pieces."

"Yes, I finally did it!" exclaimed Rydel as he reached into his bag.

"Hold it," said Lyla. "You're going to sell high-grade, mouth-watering sticks for a measly seven copper? That's absurd!" The shopkeeper looked at Lyla, then his meat sticks, and finally back at Rydel.

"Two silver pieces," said the shopkeeper to Rydel.

"No!" shouted Rydel to Lyla. "Why would you do that?!"

"Merry Quimas," said Lyla. The shopkeeper began to chuckle, and Rydel began to walk away with the rest of the group, with his head hanging low, and his stomach growling for the lost food.

Having picked up Zero along the way, the group walked for a few hours until they arrived at the woods, just outside the city. They walked through the dense oak trees for nearly an hour, with Bacchus sticking the goblin flyers to every other tree he saw. They searched through every bush, leaves, and even some tree holes, but there were no goblins in sight. It wasn't until they walked through a clearing that they noticed something odd; there was a tree log, poorly hiding what seemed to be a hole underneath it. With Rydel's strength, he easily moved the log out of the way to reveal that there indeed was a massive hole in the ground, with a ladder going down.

The group spent about ten minutes deciding whether or not this was a trap. They crowded around and viewed the hole in many different angles. Eventually, Alexia decided to throw a rock to see if anything unusual happened. They pointed their ears at the hole and, after a couple of seconds, they heard a small thud and nothing more. They figured that the hole was roughly 25, maybe even 30 feet deep and that it would likely be safe to go down.

Without any warning though, Zero yelled out, "Let's do this!" and jumped down the hole, ignoring the ladder completely. The group heard a bigger thud, and echoing groans coming from the hole as they looked at each other in confusion. The group climbed down the ladder, and the further they went, the darker it became until, eventually, all light was lost to them.

As they finished making their way down, Rydel could see Zero softly whimpering in the corner and caressing his legs. They were in a single room, where the only way out was either the ladder they came down from, or a single hallway to their side.

"Zero, buddy, are you ok?" asked Rydel.

"I think so," replied Zero. "My legs just… kind of hurt."

"Well yeah, that's what happens when you fall straight down a deep hole. What were you thinking?"

"I'm sorry. I was getting bored waiting." Rydel sighed and helped Zero off the ground.

"In any case, I should probably tend to you. Lyla, do you want to lead the way?"

"Oh sure," replied Lyla. "Let the girl who can't see in the dark lead the way. Real good plan, Rydel."

"I'm sorry, I tend to forget that you humans don't have night vision like us elves or how the rest of this group does. In that case, maybe you and Alexia should be in the middle since neither of you can see." As Rydel finished his sentence, Sol walked to the front and his staff began emitting a bright light that lit up the room they were in.

"There, now the girls can see and maybe they can be meat shields if need be," said Sol.

"I'm not sure about that last part, but this is still good," said Rydel as he began pointing to Lyla. "Sol can lead the way with his staff, and you can just follow behind him." Rydel began pointing to himself. "Unless, of course, you want your big, strong, pal Rydel to lead." Before he could get a response, Rydel began slowly walking towards the hallway.

"Hey, Mr. big strong Rydel?" said Lyla.

"Yes?"

"You might wanna look down before you walk ahead." Lyla pointed right to where Rydel was about to take a step. Rydel stopped, and underneath his foot was a bear trap. He jumped back and Lyla began disarming the trap.

"Thank you Lyla, I should've been more careful."

"Yeah, you probably should've." Lyla finished disarming the trap and put it in her bag. "This could be useful later. I'm pretty sure Alexia here would've been just fine, and as long as I have this light I'll be fine too. Anyway, let's get going." The group began walking through the hallway.

The walls were cracked and covered in dense clumps of moss, and every step the group took echoed all around. They walked for a bit until they came to a small room. It was rather empty, only having two more hallways for the group to venture through, and a door that had, what appeared to be, a sign written in Dwarven, but was too decrepit to read properly.

The group went for the door. Unlocked, they were able to open it, and inside was a trove of different weapons and armor. Some items were in pristine condition as if recently made but never used; only having a thick layer of dust to show their age. Others, however, were rusted, dented, or even chipped.

They examined some of the items they found in the room. Rydel was comparing some of the armor he found with what he was currently wearing. Lyla picked up a short sword from the trove and unsheathed the short sword she currently owned. Wielding both in each hand, she took a stance and began swinging both in the air as if she was in combat. With a smirk on her face, she put them both away. Alexia looked around the room for a bit, passing up most of the items available to her.

"By chance, has anyone seen a crossbow?" asked Alexia.

"You mean this?" replied Lyla as she picked up a crossbow, along with a bag of crossbow bolts.

"Yes! Is there another one?"

"Nope. Seems to be the only one in this place."

"Oh. I don't… suppose you'd let me have it, would you?"

"Sorry, but you know what they say, finders keepers." Alexia scoffed and marched off, while Lyla had a smug smile.

Bacchus approached a javelin that was mounted on the wall. It was a shining blue with yellow accents and each end was jagged in the shape of a lightning bolt.

"This pointy stick, it calls for Bacchus," proclaimed Bacchus. Bacchus picked up the javelin and held it high. "Bacchus' enemies will soon know Bacchus' wrath." Bacchus picked up another, ordinary looking javelin off the floor. "This less special pointy stick will be for good measure. Now, if only Bacchus had some enemies."

Having taken what they wanted from the room the group stepped back onto the previous room. They chose one of the unexplored hallways and walked through it and approached another room. As they stepped foot, everyone in the group aside from Lyla was taken aback. Sol waved his staff around to light the room, and bathed in the light was, what appeared to be, a skeleton that was chained to the wall, along with the remains of a half-eaten horse next to a burnt out fireplace.

They approached the skeleton but stopped in their tracks once they saw that the skeleton actually had flesh. It was an emaciated corpse whose bones were protruding through its paper-like flesh. The corpse was too dried up for the group to discern any information about it, only noting that it had a strange tattoo on its arm. Zero started to gag as he saw the corpse, while Rydel winced and turned away from it.

As the group was occupied with the corpse, Sol approached a strange object that was also chained to the wall. It was an amber amulet, possessing a strange sigil in the center. Sol yanked it off the wall and thought, _Mine_. He began wearing the amulet.

Sol then turned his head and noticed that there was, yet, another room. He began walking towards it. Noticing that the light source was moving away, Lyla turned to where Sol walking towards. She ran to him and pulled his arm away.

"What gives?!" exclaimed Sol.

"Well geez, you're so close to the ground that I thought you'd notice," said Lyla as she pointed down in front of Sol. He looked down to see another bear trap with only a few leaves attempting to cover it up.

"Oh, this?" said Sol hesitantly. "I knew about it. I was merely testing the rest of you."

Lyla looked at him with a blank face and responded, "… right." She disarmed the trap and placed it in her bag.

Venturing forward, the group began hearing a faint, windy noise as they found themselves in a small room, only having a torn and broken couch and a single bookshelf, along with, another, hallway. This hallway, however, was quite longer than the previous ones as the light from Sol's staff couldn't reach the end, nor could any of the group members with their dark vision come close to seeing the end of the hallway.

Bacchus began walking towards the long hallway, while Sol approached the bookshelf. The bookshelf was mossy, with most of its shelves broken and splintering. He picked a book from the bottom shelf since it was the easiest for him to reach and began wiping off the thick layer of dust from the cover. The title was written in old-fashioned Dwarvish. Being the only member of the group that could read Dwarvish, Sol knew he found an old spellbook and began reading it intently.

Zero, who was still limping, turned to the broken couch and sat on it.

"My lord, how much longer does this place keep going!" exclaimed Zero. "And where is that noise coming from?!"

"Yeah, this place does go on for a while," said Rydel. "But considering all the traps leading to this place, there's gotta be _something_ worth hiding here." Rydel turned to see Bacchus walking back with widened eyes. "What's wrong Bacchus?"

"Bacchus sees danger up ahead," said Bacchus. Hearing this, the group became silent and went into the long hallway. They walked carefully on their toes, with the windy noise becoming more distorted and violent with each step they took. They walked far enough for Sol's staff to dimly light up what was ahead. In front of them was another room with three large creatures in the center. Two wolves, wrapped around and cradling a massive, snoring Bugbear, a large and hairy goblinoid that was as tall as Rydel and whose demeanor was mean and fierce, even in its deep sleep. Underneath them was a stash of shining, metal pieces. The group went back to the previous room.

"Alright everyone," whispered Rydel, "here's the plan, I'm going to go in there and take the Bugbear head on, you guys get the wolves."

"Rydel, that is absolutely one of the dumbest plans I have ever heard," responded Alexia. "You can't just solve this with mere brute force."

"Why not? They're sleeping, so we have the advantage."

"Rydel, they're _wolves_, they have amazing sensory abilities, they'll sense you approaching them. Hell, had it not been for that brute snoring as loud as he is and shaking the place up then they would have probably woken up and attacked us by now."

"No kidding," said Lyla. She pulled out her bag that had the two bear traps protruding out from it. "I still have these. With that big guy being as loud as he is I might be able to set these up."

"I can annihilate them with my magic from far away," said Sol.

"Bacchus can throw a pointy stick at them," said Bacchus.

"Rydel and I can shoot arrows at them," said Zero. Lyla grabbed her new crossbow and bolts and turned to Alexia.

"Here," said Lyla, "I already have a bow on me so you can use this. Just give it back once this is done." Alexia had a confused look for a moment before taking the weapon.

"Oh, umm, t-thank you," said Alexia, stuttering some of her words. She fidgeted with the weapon for a bit before a loading a bolt in it. "I'll put it to great use!" Lyla walked into the hallway, with Sol right behind her to light the way.

"Alexia, I'm sorry, but I think you should be in front of us," said Rydel, "you're not suited for the dark like we are so we wouldn't want you to accidentally miss and hit us."

"I think I'll do just fine," responded Alexia. "So please, don't patronize me any further." Rydel raised a brow and opened his mouth to say something, but quickly shut it and turned to face the hallway.

Rydel and Zero readied their bows, while Alexia aimed her crossbow, and Bacchus held his jagged javelin. Lyla and Sol walked to the center of the hallway and began setting both traps. The sounds of metal clanking were but whispers compared to the sound of the snoring Bugbear that was tossing and turning in its lucid sleep.

After several minutes, the traps were set. Both Lyla and Sol went back to their companions, who were sweating from anticipation. Lyla readied her own bow, and Sol turned to Lyla and Alexia.

"I'm going to turn off the light to do something cool," said Sol. "Are you going to be useful and hit it?"

"You mean, aim forward in a completely straight hallway?" responded Alexia. "How hard could it be."

Sol nodded, and the light from his staff faded away. Sol began whispering an incantation in an infernal language and an orb of pure, chaotic energy appeared in front of him. He held his hand towards the ball and whispered, "Chaos Bolt." In an instant, the ball flew towards the Bugbear and wolves and, in the blink of an eye, erupted once it hit them. Tiny flames were scattered about, left behind from the random effect of the Chaos Bolt, and illuminated small sections of the Bugbear's room.

The creatures awoke, and the ground shook as the Bugbear roared in pain. The wolves howled, as pieces of their fur were being singed away, and jolted towards the group. Going as fast as they did though, the wolves didn't notice the sharp, metal blades of the bear trap, and stepped over them. The trap activated and the metal teeth of the traps pierced each animal's legs. The wolves whimpered as their trapped legs were now soaked in a stream of their blood.

Wasting no time, the group fired a barrage of arrows and bolts at the creatures, while Bacchus flung his javelin. Being at the front, the wolves took the brunt of the attack and let out one final whimper before falling.

Bacchus' javelin flew past the wolves but fell in front of the Bugbear. Upon seeing the wolves fall, the Bugbear let out his loudest roar yet and picked up the javelin. He threw it as hard as he could and began charging at the group. The javelin flew just past Bacchus and grazed Rydel's armor.

The group reloaded and began shooting another round of arrows, bolts, and small flames that Sol shot from his fingers as he yelled, "Fire Bolt! Fire Bolt!" The Bugbear slowed down as he was cut and pierced by the volley of attacks. He stopped, knelt down, and held his arms over his face to protect himself with what little armor he had.

It was at this moment that Bacchus retrieved his javelin and hurled it at the Bugbear. Like before though, he missed and the javelin landed right at the Bugbear's feet. In a desperate attempt, the Bugbear put his hands down and reached for the javelin. Seeing this, Rydel quickly shot an arrow at the beast. The arrow hit the creature and pierced right through its skull. Bits of flesh spread onto the ground as the arrow exited the back of its skull. The Bugbear fell with a heavy thud onto the blood-soaked floor.


	4. Chapter 4: Unwanted Altruism

CHAPTER 4

UNWANTED ALTRUISM

The group stopped their barrage of attacks and Sol used his magic to re-light his staff once more. Before them was the cut and singed body of the once hulking beast. The group took a deep breath and let out a collective sigh as most of them put away their weaponry and cleaned the sweat off their faces.

Lyla dashed towards the beast's corpse and dug her blades deep in its nape. She sawed through the bits of flesh and tendons, decapitating the beast. Rydel and Alexia looked horrified.

"What the hell are you doing?!" asked Alexia.

"The poster said 100 gold pieces per Goblin head, right?" answered Lyla as she picked up the head. "And this guy is basically just a big Goblin, so just imagine what he'll be worth!"

Sol ran past the rest of the group, towards the shiny pile in the next room, shouting, "Mine, mine, mine!" Lyla gave chase and immediately outran Sol and his stubby little legs. In front of them was a large pile of silver pieces with bits of gold pieces and bones scattered about. Sol stuffed his pockets with as much money as he could. Among the pile was a worn, brown cloth bag with colorful patch work of what seemed to be a face. Lyla grabbed the bag and stuffed the head along with several handfuls of silver pieces into it, not noticing that no matter how much she filled the bag, it never seemed to get any heavier.

"Well that's lovely," said Alexia as she and Rydel walked up to the pile of money with crossed arms, "I hope you intend on sharing some of that with the rest of us." She looked at the bag that Lyla was holding. "Oh, well lucky you, it seems like you've found a Bag of Holding."

"A Bag-of-what now?" asked Lyla.

"A Bag of Holding. They're magical bags that have their own little pocket dimension inside of them. Anything that goes in them also doesn't affect the bag's weight either… to a certain extent that is. As you can imagine, they're rather useful."

"Well, well, lucky me, I just keep finding great things down here don't I? And sure, you guys can get the rest. I've already gotten plenty." Alexia and Rydel knelt to collect their treasure.

With his pockets full, Sol inspected the rest of the room. Despite its size, the room was rather empty. Sol couldn't see much other than the few occasional cockroaches scurrying in and out of the cracked stone walls and broken floor tiles. But then, off in the corner, was the Caliban's Moon rapier. He went to the weapon and picked it up. It took both hands to hold, as the blade was nearly as long as Sol was. It was as white as the moon, and had a gem embedded in the pommel that reflected the current moon's phase. Despite being in such a decrepit and filthy area, the blade was clean and spotless. _Now THIS is mine_, Sol thought to himself. He crudely tucked the blade on his back within his robes, not noticing that the blade was sticking out past his head, and waddled back to his companions.

"Oh, Sol, did you manage to fi-," in the middle of her question, Alexia noticed the handle sticking out from Sol's back. Her face filled with glee and she drew the rapier. "Oh my, you actually found it!?"

"No!" Said Sol. "Give it back you fool, it's mine!"

"Absolutely not!" Alexia leaned in closer and poked Sol's forehead. "We've already risked so much when _you_ were the one that killed Kaynith and his guards." She then poked his forehead with each new sentence. "So we're going to take back the rapier. We're going to turn it in for the reward. And we're going to put this all behind us!" Sol quaked and nodded. "Good, now you can at least carry it there." Alexia tossed the rapier back to Sol.

"Yeah, I agree with Alexia," chimed Rydel. "We messed up, horribly. I think it'd be best if we just regroup now so we can get out of here and put this all behind us."

"Speaking of which, where are Bacchus and Zero?"

"They said they saw something weird in the hallway and wanted to check it out. They're probably done by now so we should meet back with them." The group walked back to the middle of the hallway towards Bacchus and Zero. Bacchus had removed a large board from the wall that revealed a small, hidden closet that contained several dirty bottles.

"Bacchus found secret with impatient Elf man while rest of group ran off," said Bacchus. "Rydel can have these drinks. Bacchus is going to help the Elf man with his bad legs and smooth brain."

"Whoa, that's amazing Bacchus, " said Rydel. "I don't think you should be that hard on Zero though."

"He shouldn't have jumped in the big hole."

"Don't worry about it Rydel, he's kind of right," said Zero. "It wasn't a good idea. If we're done here then I think me and Barkus should go to the surface now."

Bacchus put Zero's arms over his shoulder and the two of them went back the way they came. Rydel grabbed the bottles sitting in the closet and wiped the dust and grime covering them. Four of the larger bottles were printed with an image of a wolf labeled, _Wolfwood Wine_. Three of the other bottles were smaller and filled with a red liquid that resembled blood. Rydel's eyes widened for a moment, but after closer inspection he saw a faint label, marking the bottles as nothing but normal health potions. The last three bottles were filled with a brown liquid with no labeling whatsoever. With no concern for his health, Rydel opened the bottle and smelled the inside. Surprisingly, he was met with a familiar smell of iodine mixed with herbs. Rydel had found whiskey. "Well this was definitely a nice little bonus," said Rydel as he tucked the drinks in his bag.

Suddenly, the group heard a pained howling coming from the end of the hallway. They scurried as fast as they could towards the noise, nearly tripping themselves as they ran. They arrived at the large room with the chained corpse and half-eaten horse carcass and saw Bacchus and Zero sweating profusely with small cuts and nicks all over their bodies. Across from them were four Goblins each with their own dulled swords. They shared the same sickly-green skin, scrawny physique and were roughly a foot taller than Sol. Behind them, however, was a creature twice their size. Although its body was mostly hidden under a thick, dark cloak, its hands and head were exposed. The creature had red hands, with long, black fingernails, while its head had no flesh. It's head was a decaying, cracked skull that was set completely set ablaze. The Goblins hissed and yelled at the group in their Goblinoid language as the flaming figure behind them simply stared at the group with its hollow, vacant eye sockets. As the group began reaching for their weaponry, the figure drew a sword from underneath its cloak and dashed towards Bacchus and Zero, with the Goblins following suit.

"No!" said Rydel, who ran in front of Bacchus and parried the oncoming attack. As the skull figure dueled with Rydel with seemingly equal strength, the rest of the Goblins… attempted to subdue the rest of the group. While Alexia swiftly shot down two of the Goblins with her crossbow, Bacchus and Zero were playing keep away with one of the Goblin's swords, and Lyla was chasing down the last Goblin who was, in turn, chasing Sol in circles around the whole room.

"Don't touch me, don't touch me, don't touch me!" screeched Sol as a Goblin was chasing and flailing his sword behind him. "Quick, save me!"

"I could if you just stood still dammit," replied Lyla. Sol stopped running and turned his back against a wall. He raised his arms and staff to his face and braced himself. The sudden burst of light shined directly onto the Goblin's eyes. The Goblin screamed as the light had temporarily blinded him, and in his hysteria, crashed into the wall, where Lyla took her blades and stabbed him in his back.

Sol opened his eyes and looked at the fallen Goblin beside him. "Ah ha, I knew I could do it!" said Sol. "That'll show you what happens when you mess with me." Sol kicked the dying Goblin in his stomach. The Goblin let out a low, quiet groan.

"Bacchus likes this game with the small green man," said Bacchus, who continued throwing the Goblin's sword back and forth with Zero. As the Goblin was trying to reclaim its sword, a bolt had zoomed by and struck the Goblin straight through his skull.

"For the love of all things, can you two please focus on the situation at hand!?" said Alexia towards Bacchus and Zero, as she pointed at the duel between Rydel and the flaming skull creature.

With every swing the creature took with its sword, Rydel blocked with ease. It swung and swung, and with every swing it took, its movements became all the more sluggish, while Rydel hadn't even broken a sweat. It paused for a moment to see that its companions had fallen in battle, and that it was now surrounded by the rest of the group.

"You know, you really had me worried at first," said Rydel, "but I'm actually kind of disappointed at how easy this was. Now, die monster!" Rydel raised his mighty greatsword and swung at the figure accross its chest as hard as he could. He sent the figure flying back nearly 10 feet. A pool of blood formed around its body, and its flame had dissipated. "Wow, did you guys see that? I did great!"

"Well, that was certainly a sight to see," said Alexia. "Let's just hope we're prepared and focused now in case any more Goblins show up." Alexia turned to see Bacchus clapping at Rydel's win, Sol, repeatedly kicking the now dead Goblin, and Lyla decapitating one of the other fallen Goblins. "Well you sure don't miss a beat."

"Well, yeah," replied Lyla, "it's an easy 100 gold pieces."

"I mean… I guess I can't argue with you there." Alexia went over to one of the Goblins she had shot and claimed its head. Bacchus also decapitated one of the remaining Goblins, and tried giving it to Zero, but refused to take it as seeing the thing caused him to start gagging. When Lyla finished putting away the head, she looked down to see Sol tugging at her shirt.

"You there," said Sol, pointing at the Goblin he was kicking, "bring me the head of the one that I've slain." He then pointed at an unlit torch hanging on the wall, too high for him to reach. "And bring me that."

Lyla scoffed, "Whatever," and gave the head and torch to Sol once she was done.

Sol pointed at the torch and whispered to himself, "Fire Bolt," and a small flame shot from his finger, lighting the torch. "Here, my magic was going to waste by being your night light." Sol then handed the torch to Lyla.

"Aww, that sucks," said Rydel. "Everyone's getting extra gobo heads except me." With this, Sol went to inspect the skull figure. He placed his hand on its face, and instead of feeling the hot, rough and coarse texture of the once flaming bone, it felt smooth and cold to the touch. He moved his hands up and felt something smooth and cottony on top of the creature's head that he couldn't see with his own eyes. He grasped at the invisible object and pulled it off. In his hands was a now visible, colorful knitted hat, and the head of the figure transformed from a skull into what looked like a Goblin's head. It's skin was red, and it's face looked more like that of a human's; mature and less disgusting, than that of the smaller green Goblins. Sol tried on the hat and with a single thought, he transformed. He grew over two feet taller, his skin became tan, and his little nubs for horns disappeared. He was the spitting image of a maturing Elf.

"I am a genius!" Said Sol. "This filthy Hobgoblin was carrying a Hat of Disguise, and now it's mine!"

"Whoa, Sol, you changed!" Said Zero. "You look like an Elf! How did you do that?"

"Well, it seems this whole underground lair is just full of surprises," said Alexia. "What he found looks to be a Hat of Disguise. As the name implies, it lets whoever is wearing it to disguise themselves with illusionary magic. Although, being a sorcerer who likely already has access to that kind of magic, I don't see what use he'd have for such a thing."

"Silence," replied Sol, "despite how great I am, casting magic spells is only temporary. But as long as I keep this on," Sol removed the hat from his head and he reverted back to his normal self, "the magic is casted forever. If you want me to share something though, then Rydel can take this filthy Hobgoblin's head. As for me, I'll wait outside." Sol walked out of the room and headed towards the exit back to the surface. Rydel extended his hand out to try and talk to Sol but was stopped by Alexia before he could say anything.

"Just let him go, at least this way he can't hog anything else we find," said Alexia. Rydel thought about it for a second and agreed. He and the rest of the group took all the Goblin heads in the room and put them in Lyla's Bag of Holding. They walked out of the room and back into the main foyer. Before they left, they proceeded into the final unexplored hallway. They turned a corner, and there they saw a ripped net on the floor that looked as though it had been recently used. They continued onward and at the end was a small room with several bunk beds. There wasn't much in the room, save for a few copper and silver pieces scattered about, and a noble woman's dress sitting on a pile of what looked like feces. Lyla picked up the dress and put it into her bag. Rydel, Alexia and Zero looked at the Lyla with scrunched faces.

"Hey, who knows, if I get this fixed up then someone might be willing to pay for it," said Lyla. The group carried on, pretending as though they didn't hear what she had said.

With nothing left to investigate, the group headed towards the exit. They climbed up the ladder, and were finally back on the surface. Rydel took in the fresh air and watched the landscape as the setting sun was enveloping the woods in an orange glow.

"Oh dammit, I knew it!" said Lyla as she was frantically looking around. "That little brat went off without us. He's gonna take that entire prize all for himself!"

"Oh relax," said Rydel, "maybe he thought it was too dangerous to stay out late in the woods and is waiting for us back at the inn. I'm sure he's not that bad, gotta give him a chance."

"I hope you're right, otherwise I'm gonna murder that little punk." The group went off and made their way towards the city to collect their rewards.

Off in a secluded area, far from the Goblin's hole, was Sol, hiding behind patches of leaves and bushes. "Those fools think they can keep me away from my prize?" Whispered Sol himself as he was caressing the missing rapier. "Ha! I found you, so you're _mine_." Sol heard a strange, quiet voice in his head.

"_Are you my new master?_" Asked the voice. Sol looked down at the rapier.

"Was… was that you?"

"_Yes. Now please, answer my query_."

Sol puffed up his chest and deepened his voice, "Why yes, of course I am thy's new master."

"_Then close thine eyes, master, and let share with you my power._" Sol gathered around some leaves and tree branches and used his magic to start a small campfire. He laid on the ground, curled himself with the rapier and shut his eyes. In a few moments, Sol's palms turned red, his red eyes turned black, and he went into a deep trance.

Hours later, when the sun had fully set and many residents had gone home for the night, the group arrived within Shalai's Aristocratic and Wealthy Elite district. They waited in the back of a rather large line outside the House of Caliban. Waiting in front of them were various other adventurers, each with their own Goblin heads, and at the end of the line was Leovold Caliban, the uncle of the late Kaynith Caliban, and a servant collecting all the heads and giving out small sacks of gold.

"Bacchus, could you do me a favor?" Asked Alexia.

"Ye?" Replied Bacchus.

"I don't… really feel like being around here. Could you please deliver this head for me?"

Bacchus gave Alexia a thumbs up and said, "Bacchus thinks that's a-ok."

"Thank you Bacchus. I'll wait for you back at the Good Companions." Alexia went off towards the inn and after a few minutes, it was the group's turn to give their Goblin heads and claim their reward.

"Come travelers, these are dark times as we've lost my dearest nephew Kaynith," preached Leovold. "I promise you all, if you vote for me to be the next Grand Arbiter in these unprecedented times, I will keep you all safe from instances such as this accursed Goblin attack that took our dear boy away!" Bacchus was the first to give his heads away. He received two sacks of gold from the servant and Bacchus gave him a mushroom in return. He went off on his merry way right after. Rydel stepped forward and turned in his Hobgoblin head. "My my, aren't you an adventurous one, we don't see too many Hobgoblins running about. We promised 100 gold for a Goblin head, but 150 should be more appropriate for this disgusting cretin." Leovold snapped his fingers and the servant quickly took the head from Rydel and handed back a slightly bigger sack of gold.

"Aw yeah!" said Rydel as he stepped out of the line. Lyla was finally up. She pulled out both the Goblin and Bugbear heads. Leovold's eyes widened and his jaw nearly dropped at the sight.

"Well… young girl, you've certainly been very busy today haven't you." Before Leovold could snap his fingers, Lyla put her hand out. She pulled out the ring that she had previously stolen from Kaynith.

"I'm sorry sir, but I found this too," said Lyla in a soft tone. "I'm not sure, but I think it may have belonged to your nephew." Leovold took the ring and held it close to his chest.

"You!" Said Leovold to the servant. "See to it that this girl is rewarded properly, pronto!" The servant started whimpering and sweating as he snatched the heads from Lyla and ran inside the house as fast as he could. He returned moments later with a noticeably larger bag of gold and handed it to Lyla. "I believe a sum of 400 gold pieces should do." Lyla grinned widely and simply nodded as she walked away. As the group went off, they could hear Leovold give the same speech to others delivering heads with the same tone and inflection, as though it had been rehearsed.

Well guys, the night's still young," said Rydel. I've had a few things planned for tonight if you guys want to tag along."

"As if," replied Lyla. "I have to go and see if Sol's hiding back at the inn and make sure he's not hogging the reward for himself."

"You were literally handed what farmers make in about four years just a few minutes ago, and you're still not satisfied?!"

"No."

"Wow. Well what about you Zero, do you want to tag along?"

"Actually I wanted to go to the temple district in the city and check the different religions there," replied Zero.

"Aren't you priests supposed to be devoted to one thing?"

"I just wanted to check them out, I didn't say I would reform."

"Fair enough. I guess I'll meet you two back at the inn then." The three went their separate ways.

All by himself, Rydel had made his way to the Information Brokerage. He went inside and was amazed that the interior of the building was far larger than what it seemed to be from the outside. He even admired the giant statues in each corner of the building that looked as though they were holding up the roof. At the end owas a booth, with a snoozing Dwarf, whose arms were covered in snake tattoos, behind it. Rydel knocked on the booth and the Dwarf woke up in a small panic.

"Heh, who, what?" Said the Dwarf in his panic. He rubbed his eyes and could faintly see Rydel with his returning vision. "Right, right, work. What do you need fella?"

"Man this place is cool," said Rydel. "I was told I could get info here, is that right?"

"That's what we're in business for."

"Great! First off, I was hoping you could tell me what kind of weapon this is." Rydel took out his black katana and presented it to the Dwarf. The Dwarf slapped his face to get out of his daze. He took the sword that was just a bit shorter than he was and inspected it. His tattoos started glowing as he was weighing the sword and trying to determine the material used in its crafting. After a few minutes, his tattoos stopped glowing, and he returned the sword to Rydel with a puzzled look.

"Well it's definitely a magical weapon, that's for sure. As for what kind of sword this is, I'm not sure. This type of craftsmanship isn't something you'd find in any of the countries here in Iserath. Could be from Ishkahna if I had to guess. You could always try talking to Ansen in the Slayer's Guild, he's good with these kinds of things."

"A magical sword?! I got this as a white elephant gift!"

"Sounds like whoever gave it you clearly didn't know what that meant."

"Hu, well that's definitely neat." Rydel put away his katana and pulled out a journal and pen. "One last thing. I've been hearing around town something about missing children? Can you tell me what that's about?"

"Yeah, there's been reports of missing children recently. Real shame too, we've lost some good child informants. Nobody really knows anything except around two weeks ago, a lot of farmers started reporting that their children went missing. All the same story; parents were with the kid all day and night, and the next morning they're nowhere to be found. Even we're not entirely sure what's been going on." Rydel jotted this information in his journal.

"Has no one done anything about this yet? What about the Slayer's Guild?"

"It's mostly a bunch of farmers' kids, so the nobility probably doesn't see it as a huge issue. Unless it happens to one of their own, they likely won't prioritize it anytime soon. The Slayer's Guild is in the business of slaying monsters, these more civil issues probably aren't something they're too concerned about."

"Well I guess that's something else I'll have to talk to them about. Well, thanks for all the info. See ya." As Rydel turned to leave, the Dwarf presented his palm and cleared his throat. "Oh, need something?"

"Yeah, the pay. That's gonna be five gold pieces."

"Five gold pieces?! Why?"

"Like I said, info is our business, and our business isn't free. Now I suggest you pay up before things get real ugly."

"Alright, alright, don't be so rude, I'll pay." Rydel pulled the gold from his bag and paid the Dwarf. With his business done, he thanked the informant and went off towards the Slayer's Guild.

Across the other side of the Market district, and outside of the Good Companions, Bacchus was approaching Alexia with her bag of gold.

"Ah Bacchus, that was quick," said Alexia. "Thank you very much."

"Ye," responded Bacchus. "Bacchus is the man with a plan. And now, Bacchus' plan is to turn these shiny gold rocks into shiny gold ale."

"... you do that Bacchus." Bacchus went inside the inn and drank to his heart's content while Alexia walked off into the nightly market district. She stopped in the middle of the street, in between two weapon shops; The House of Shade and Wo, and Ironwalds. Remembering her previous experience at the House of Shade and Wo, she decided to go to the other shop. When she walked in she was greeted by a Dwarf with a shaven beard working the counter. The shop itself was similar to that of its competitor across the street, filled to the brim with various types of weaponry, armor, and what looked to be a fully functional forge in the back of the shop.

"The name's Ironwald, what can I do ya for young missy?" Asked Ironwald.

"Oh, well umm, I was hoping I could buy some crossbow bolts, perhaps," replied Alexia. "Would you happen to, maybe, carry any good sir?"

"Oh sure!" Ironwald went over to the back of the shop and returned with several bundles of crossbow bolts. "I made these babies myself just yesterday."

"Oh, excellent! Umm, how much are they?"

"For a sweet girl like yourself, I'll sell ya a whole bundle of 10 for just one silver piece."

"That's great! I'll take two please." Ironwald prepared the bundles as Alexia pulled out the bag that she had received earlier. When she opened it, she saw a mushroom, neatly wrapped in a bright red ribbon. Alexia ignored the mushroom and handed the shopkeeper the money. She grabbed the bundles and headed towards the exit when she noticed a wanted poster by the door. The top was labeled with _The Bard,_ and it detailed that of an Elf with a puffy goatee and curly mustache. Alexia turned back to the shopkeeper, "Excuse me, do you know if there've been any missing person's posters?"

"None have been printed yet as far as I know, but there has been talk of missing children recently. Is everything alright? Are you looking for someone?"

"No, no, no, I was just curious. Thank you." Before Alexia could leave, the door opened and Lyla walked through. "Well, what brings you here?"

"Oh, so this is where you went," replied Lyla. "Well guess what, Sol wasn't anywhere at the inn. I looked everywhere, and now I'm livid. I swear, I'm going to kill him when I find him."

"Uh huh. So that's why you came to a weapon's shop?"

"Well, I actually came to get some bolts for the crossbow. I may or may not be serious about killing Sol though, I haven't decided yet."

"Oh right… your crossbow… well, I guess I'll see you back at the inn then. Bye." Alexia left the shop and Lyla raised an eyebrow.

"Welcome, the name's Ironwald, what can I do for ya missy?" Asked Ironwald

"How much for some crossbow bolts?"

"I'll give ya a whole bundle of 10 for just one silver piece." Lyla looked at the bolts for a few moments and then looked back at Ironwald.

"I'll give you three copper for them." In an instant, Ironwald's expression changed and he gave Lyla the dirtiest look he had ever given in his life.

"What are you, stupid? Get the hell out of my shop." Lyla snickered, and she left the store. When she went outside, she saw Alexia waiting for her.

"I thought you were headed to the inn already," said Lyla.

"I was going to but I wanted to give you this first," said Alexia, as she presented the crossbow. "This is yours, and I just wanted to make sure that I give it back." Lyla looked at the crossbow, and then back to Alexia.

"Ehh, I didn't end up getting the bolts, so I guess you can just keep it."

"Oh, really? Wow, you know, maybe I had you wrong this whole time. Maybe you can actually be a kind pe-" Lyla rolled her eyes as Alexia was talking.

"For three copper pieces." Alexia stopped talking and gave Lyla an annoyed look. She opened her bag and gave Lyla two copper pieces and the neatly wrapped mushroom. Lyla threw the mushroom away in disgust and the two went back towards the inn.

After nearly an hour, Rydel had made his way to the Guild and College district of Shalai. The district housed many different buildings for both old and upcoming experts to learn and excel in their areas of expertise; buildings such as The Slayer's Guild, The Merchant's Guild, The Bard's College, and the Mage's college were just a few examples of what was located here.

Rydel had found his way to the Slayer's Guild and made his way in. Inside, colorful gems embedded in the walls illuminated the building, and the main lobby looked similar to that of a training arena. Rydel was greeted by a shirtless human who had been attacking a training dummy. The man had incredibly defined muscles and abs; his hair and beard were black with gray spots growing on the sides, and he had a peg leg.

"Hey, I'm looking for a guy named Ansen," said Rydel.

"You've found him," replied Ansen.

"Great. I was told you might be able to tell me what this is." Rydel presented his katana to Ansen. Ansen looked intrigued upon seeing this.

"A katana, you don't really get to see these too often. How'd you get your hands on one of these?"

"So you know what this is? An old friend gave it to me as a white elephant gift. I came here to see if you could train me to use it."

"Well I'd hope I know what it is." Ansen turned to show that he was also carrying a katana around his waist. "And hey man, if you don't want to really tell me how you got one of these then that's no problem, no need to lie about it. Now let's see." Ansen put his hand to his chin and took a few seconds to think of Rydel's request. "If you want training for a highly niche sword like this, then I'll have to charge 20 gold pieces a day, for about 10 days of training. Or-" Rydel's heart sank when he heard the price of training.

"That's 200 gold pieces! How is anyone supposed to affo-" Before Rydel could finish his rant, Ansen put his finger to Rydel's face and Rydel calmed down.

"As I was about to say, since we're low on available members, you can take on one of the jobs on the bulletin board there in exchange for the lessons." Rydel went to the board and read three different postings, each one about a different monster. "_WANTED: Five Beholder eyes, it's liver, and its heart. Six heads of a Hydra. The skin of a Bullete."_ He went back to Ansen once he was done. "Well, I can't say I can afford the lessons right now, nor do I know what kind of monsters those are, but mark my words I'll come back in due time. Before I go, I was wondering if you knew anything about the recent cases of missing children."

"I've heard some chit-chat here and there, but I personally haven't been paying close attention to it."

"Well that's the thing, from the looks of it, I'm sure you guys could help find those missing kids. Why haven't you done anything?"

"Look let me level with you here. The guild's built for hunting monsters. We'll get contracted by whoever needs our level of expertise, whether that's the mages or alchemists who need specific body parts for experimenting, or artisans who need skin for leather. Now, if there was a monster kidnapping these kids, and the nobility or common folk wanted to contract us to get rid of it, then we'd gladly step in. I feel bad for the people, I really do, but at the end of the day that's guard work, not our work."

"I respect your honesty, but unfortunately I can't accept that answer. I've seen too many terrible things happen because someone wanted a paycheck out of it. At the end of the day the well being of the people should be way more important than money." Rydel thanked and shook Ansen's hand and left the Slayer's Guild.

On his way back to the inn, Rydel couldn't stop thinking about the crying parents he had encountered earlier, and all the children that were lost out there. Were they cold, hungry, hurt, or even worse? Rydel couldn't stomach it. _Someone's gotta save those kids, and it's gonna be me,_ He thought to himself. With the sudden burst of inspiration, Rydel charged towards the inn like a speeding horse. He ran and ran as fast as he could for nearly a half hour, until he was finally at the inn and up the second floor. Before he kicked at one of the doors, he turned the doorknob and slightly opened the door, so as to not damage it, and kicked it wide open. Inside was Lyla, standing by her window. "Lyla! Lyla!" Said Rydel. "We. We hav-" Rydel's lungs were burning, and he had to stop to catch his breath. Lyla glared at Rydel.

"I don't know what you're here for, but the answer is no," said Lyla. After nearly a minute of panting, Rydel was able to regain his composure.

"No, you don't understand, there's missing kids out there, and I have a plan and it's crucial that I get your help to save them."

"Why on Earth do you specifically need me for this?"

"I was thinking it over, and only kids are missing right? So what if we have you lure out whatever's causing all this while I stakeout near you to stop it."

"First off, there's no way in the nine Hells am I going to be used as live bait for your 'operation baby chasing,' and second off, I'm 17, I'm not that young."

"You're practically a baby!"

"I know I can't live for hundreds of years like you, but 17 is relatively old for a human you know."

"I'm over 200 years older than you, I don't think you could ever convince me on that. And aren't you at all worried about those kids? You don't know what's happening to them. For all you know they could be starving or even hurt."

"Exactly, you don't know what's happening with them either. For all _you_ know they could've chosen to run away from. Who knows, maybe they're out there having the times of their lives."

"You can't honestly believe that…"

"All I'm saying is, you can't save everyone. Sometimes bad things happen to people, even kids. Things just happen for no reason, and if that leads to a bunch of these kids potentially being lost or having to live off and fend for themselves, then that's it. Not every kid out there is gonna be fortunate enough to be saved." Rydel pinched between his eyes. He unsheathed his greatsword and slammed it onto Lyla's bed, splitting it in two. "What are you insane?! What's wrong with you?!"

"I'm sorry for this Lyla but I'm not giving up on them. You're going to have to help me and I can't afford to take no for an answer." Rydel picked up Lyla and put her over his shoulder.

"Wait, hang on, put me down right now! I promise I'll help you out!"

"Oh thank goodness. I was kind of worried there." Rydel set Lyla down and began sheathing his greatsword. "I'm very glad you agreed. I don't know what I'd do without you." As Rydel was putting away his sword, Lyla bolted behind her and jumped out the window. Rydel couldn't believe it, but she managed to safely land on the roof of the building next to the inn. Rydel sighed, "You just can't find good help these days." He sprinted at the window and jumped. Rydel, being larger than most people, didn't make it too far, and he crashed on top of several garbage bags in a dumpster. A window from the room next to Lyla's opened. Alexia popped her head out to see Lyla on the other building's roof, and Rydel sitting on garbage down below.

"Just what are you two doing?" Asked Alexia.

"Rydel there literally tried kidnapping me for his baby chasing project and I had to run away," replied Lyla.

"It's for a good cause!" Said Rydel.

"Oh for the love of," said Alexia, "Rydel you can't just force people to do whatever you want, no matter how good of a cause you think it is. And before you ask, no, I want no part in it either. Now, if you two will excuse me, it's time for me to go play music downstairs."

"I'll join you," said Lyla. "I want there to be witnesses in case he tries to pull another stunt like that." Lyla jumped back to her bedroom and both her and Alexia went downstairs into the bar.

"Well fine!" Said Rydel. "I'll find a way to do this without you guys!" Left without a plan and smelling terrible, Rydel ungraciously went to his room to shower and go to bed. Surely, he'd have a new plan ready for tomorrow.

Bathed in the flickering glow of a dying campfire and the moon's night light, Sol was awakening from his trance. He sat up. His palms had returned to normal, and he stretched to wake his muscles as the rapier sat alongside him.

"_It is done my master,_" said the rapier in Sol's head. "_I've chosen a form more suitable for you. Use me well._" The rapier radiated a bright white light and it transformed into a staff. Like the rapier, it was as white as the moon, and had an orb embedded at the end that reflected the moon's current phase. It even shrank to suit Sol's height. Sol looked at his new staff in awe. He looked at his old staff for a moment and tossed it in the campfire. He looked at his robes covered in dirt and mud and sneered. He packed his things, headed towards the city, and after a few hours Sol had made it back to the outer walls of Shalai. Using his new hat, he disguised himself as an Elf because, surely, a Tiefling up at such a late hour would be up to no good. With no issues, he entered the city and made his way to the House of Caliban. He knocked on the door, with his Goblin head ready in hand. An older gentleman wearing a black and white suit answered the door.

"Yes?" Asked the old man.

Sol held the Goblin head to the man and responded, "Old man, I have come for my reparations."

"I'm terribly sorry sir, but the master is not available at this time to hand out the reward. Please come again tomorrow."

"Outrageous! I've slaved all day to acquire this bounty. I refuse to leave without my compensation!" The old man rolled his eyes and wrote on a piece of paper. He then stamped it with the Caliban insignia. He handed the paper to Sol and took the Goblin head. The paper was a promissory note with the sum of 100 gold pieces.

"Be sure to bring this to the bank at your convenience and it will be exchanged for the proper reward. Good night." The old man waved at Sol and closed the door.

Being late at night, Sol wandered to the Market district, hoping to find a nice, comfy bed to rest in. Not wanting to be berated by his companions, Sol went to a different inn for the night, The Glory Bringer. He went inside, requested a room key and paid the innkeeper.

"Please enjoy your stay sir," said the innkeeper.

"Maybe," responded Sol. The innkeeper let out an awkward laugh. As Sol was headed to his room, he heard two Dwarves loudly drinking and laughing at the bar. Sol pulled up a chair across from them and ordered a drink. "So gentleman, what lies beyond the grapevine tonight?" One of the Dwarfs groaned and clenched his fist at Sol.

"Oi, we didn't ask ya to join us," said the Dwarf. "Scram, or else." The other Dwarf put his hand on his companion's shoulder.

"Oh relax," said the other Dwarf who slurred his words and whose face was noticeably red. "Look at the scrawny boy. He ain't doing no harm. Just wants to drink and talk is all. Sorry about the rowdy rosy here friend, the name's Garyth Coleman, but ya can call me Gary for short, and this here's my brother Jaryth Coleman. Pleasure to meet ya." The Dwarven brothers shook Sol's hand. "As for happenings, me and my brother here are on a vacation from Withengar to explore some scenery."

Sol tilted his head and asked, "What's Withengar?" The Dwarves nearly spit out their drinks.

"Son, how long have ya been in Iserath?! There's no way ya haven't heard of the greatest city in all the continent, built on the sole foundation of mighty Dwarven engineering!"

"Would you believe me if I said I was a wandering tourist?"

"I know I shouldn't, but I suppose I'll give ya the benefit of the doubt. When ya can, explore the city, it's a marvel. Most technologically advanced civilization ya ever seen! In fact," Gary leaned in and whispered in Sol's ear, "my old man runs a fancy little spot, way better than any of these crummy old inns. Tell him I sent ya, and I'm sure he'll let ya stay for free."

"I see, sounds like a worthy trip. Any other interesting tales?"

"Nothing else much I'm afraid. Although, there was some strange, crazed fella earlier in here rattling on and on about he was going to get fired for losing some book. Something about it being ancient and a historical artifact. Actually, he put up a poster on the board there if ya want more details."

Sol went over to the board and read the poster, _URGENT: Missing book. Reward if found. Please contact arch mage Temius at the Mage's college for more details._ Sol shrugged and as he was about to put the poster back, his staff spoke to him.

"_Find the book._"


End file.
